Allograft, also called allogeneic transplant, homograft, in medical procedures, the transfer of tissue between genetically nonidentical members of the same species, although of a compatible blood type. Allografts are commonly used in the transplants of skin, corneas, hearts, livers, kidneys, and bone and bone marrow, although transplants of the last often come from relatives.

In addition to allografts, there are three other types of tissue transplants. An isograft is when tissue is transplanted from a genetically identical donor, such as an identical twin. An autograft occurs when tissue is transplanted from one site to another site on a patient, such as for skin grafts after the removal of melanomas and nonmelanoma skin cancers. A xenograft refers to transplants made between different species.

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in medicine, a section of tissue or a complete organ that is removed from its original natural site and transferred to a new position in the same person or in a separate individual. The term, like the synonym graft, was borrowed by surgeons from horticulture. Both words imply that success will...

a spreading and frequently recurring cancer of specialized skin cells (melanocytes) that produce the protective skin-darkening pigment melanin. An estimated 132,000 new melanoma cases are diagnosed worldwide each year. In the United States melanoma represents nearly 5 percent of all cases of...

disease characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells in the skin. Skin cancers are of two distinct types: nonmelanoma and melanoma. Together they account for approximately half of all reported cancers. Melanomas are cancers of pigmented cells and are far more dangerous than nonmelanomas, which...